lent 2020

With the current concerns over coronavirus , I’m curtailing my people time even more. This will be an interesting Lent season tempering fear and uncertainty against a backdrop of doom and gloom.

I intermittently fast and don’t get swayed by hunger and moodiness. Fasting for me is beyond the metabolic benefits. It’s a discipline that brings an alertness like coffee and an emotional yoga to quiet down the conversation of want. Do I have power over a cookie or will the cookie overpower me?

My stomach sometimes growls in protest. Not too often but every blue moon, my stomach growls loud enough to say hello to my students. Do I feel hungry? Slightly, but I’m hardly suffering from malnutrition. I have a bit of fluff that I’d like to tame.

Student: (in a singsong voice) “Pizza, pizza, pizza.”

Miss JNET’s Tummy: “GROWL!!”

Student: “Ice cream!”

Miss JNET’s tummy: “growl”

Student: “Cheeseburger...”

Miss JNET: “Time to return to piano.”

The doom and gloom daily news accompanying the Lenten season may bring up emotions and reactions beyond what I go through during a spiritual spring cleaning. It’s a time to practice abstinence and polishing my mind at decision making. Getting some grocery and plan for major emergency shopping in to stock up on rice, pasta, and lentils is counterintuitive to fasting season. But I will prepare for bad times ahead and hope the world isn’t living on rations and dealing with scarcity come Easter.

My sister-in-law (the family nurse) told me to stock up on N95 masks. The shortage of medical supplies has begun. J who works at a pharmacy says they limit how many masks are sold per customer AND that they will be useless against the virus because you can get sick through your EYES. Despite the worrisome news, the pharmacists aren’t as concerned. They encourage stocking up on immunity bolstering vitamins. J says the flu kills loads of people every year and coronavirus is a new flu to fight.

Will I meet the spring season feeling renewed? Will I attend Easter services and egg hunts with my family or will I be holed up in Los Angeles and the country on lockdown? Lent 2020 may find us all on our knees.

Stay strong and healthy. If you feel delicate, stay home. And may peace and hope prevail as we take on uncertainty and fear.